Peter j



(No Model.)

P.J.0ULL. GAR BRAKE. No. 434,253. Patented Aug. 12, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER J. CULL, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN C.

IVELLINGER, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 434,253, dated August 12, 1890.

Application filed October 23, 1889. Serial No. 327,951. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER J. OULL, a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to car-brakes, and more particularly to a system of air-brakes which is well adapted for use on street-railway carssuch as on cable carswhere a sure and efficient means of braking such cars is greatly needed.

To these ends my invention consists of certain improvements and combinations of parts, all of which will be more fully hereinafter set forth and claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side View of a car, showing my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing the arrangement of the several parts of my invention. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view showing the manner of securing and operating the pump, and Fig. 4 is a section of the pressure-cylinder.

Like letters indicate like parts in each of the figures.

As the preferable arrangement of the airpump is on the rear truck of the car, I will describe my invention with it located in that position.

The car a employed to illustrate my invention is the ordinary cable car having the trucks b b. These trucks 1) b are composed of the usual parts employed in car-trucks, the only parts necessary to be described in connection with my invention being the top cross-beams a, secured to the car-body, the cross-beams c of the truck, through which beams to c the car-body is mounted on the trucks, the side frames 0 of the trucks, the axles d d, journaled in said side frames, and the wheels e e. Bolted or otherwise secured to the cross-beam c of the rear truck I) is the lug f, having the bolt-hole f therein. To this lug f is pivoted the cast frame 9, said frame 9 having the lug g formed at one end thereof, and a bolt-hole g therein corresponding to the bolt-hole f, so that by means of a suitable bolt or pintle f passing through said bolt-holes a pivotal connection is formed between the cross-beam cand the frame g. This frame 9 extends to the axle, as shown, and is supported thereon by a suitable bearing n, the cap n of the bearing being bolted thereto through the flanges n on the cap a and frame g. This manner of supporting thecasting 9 both at the forward and rear end thereofv permits a certain amount of movement on the part of said casting, to which it is subjected.

by the running of the car. The frame 9 may be of any shape suitable for the purpose, and has cast integral therewith at the end, pivoted to the beam 0, the air-pump h, consisting of the cylinder h, piston b and pistonrod 71 together with the ordinary check-valve or other parts essential to the operation of such a pump. The end of the piston-rod 71, moves in the guides 2', formed on the frame g. Pivoted to this end of the piston-rod k is the strap j, the other end of said strap being secured to the gear-wheel k. The gear-wheel k is mounted and journaled on the stud Z, formed on the frame g, and is arranged above and adapted to mesh with the pinion m, journaled loosely on the rear axle d of the truck I).

Leading from the cylinder h of the airpump it is the hose or flexible pipe 0, which communicates with the pipe 10, extending along the bottom of the car and entering the air-reservoirp, said air-reservoir being adapted to hold a certain amount of air and being suitably secured to the body of the car. This reservoir 19 is in turn connected to the brake-cylinder q, whose piston-rod q is attached to the ordinary lever mechanism for forcing the brake-shoes into contact with the wheels. Any suitable form of valve, as at 1", may be inserted in the pipe connecting the air-reservoir p with the brake-cylinder q, and lever-connections extend from said valve to the forward end of the car, whereby said valve may be opened or closed by the gripman when it is desired either to apply the brakes or release them.

In order to regulate the operation of the air-pump h, so that when'the pressure in the reservoir 1) exceeds a certain fixed amount the operation of said pump will cease, I have provided the cylinder 8, as shown in Fig. 4, on said frame g, having the piston s'and piston-rod 3 Between the piston s and the forward cylinder-head is interposed a spring 8 either spiral or of other suitable form, said spring being of sufficient strength to withstand, for example, sixty pounds pressure on the piston s, but which will yield to a greater pressure. A lever t is pivoted to the end of the piston-rod the upper end of said lever being fulerumed in the bearing 25, journaled in the frame g. The lower end of the lever 25 engages with the clutch a, connected by a feather to the axle (Z and adapted to move back and forth on the same and to engage with the loosely-journaled pinion m. The air-reservoir p communicates with the cylinder .5 by means of the hose 4;, leading from the pipe w on the car-body.

The operation of my improved system of air-brakes is as follows: The parts having been arranged as described, let us assume that no air has been pumped into the air-reservoir. The cluteh u will then be in engagement with the pinion m, and upon the starting of the car as the axle d revolves the pinion at will revolve with it, and as the said pinion m meshes with the gear-wheel 7c and the strap j is attached to the piston-rod its a reciprocating motion will be imparted to the piston 7L2 of the air-pump 7t, whereby air is forced through the hose-connection 0 and pipe to to the air-reservoir p. The air-reservoir p is preferably of such capacity as to hold a sufiicient quantity of air to apply the brakes three or four times, and I prefer to maintain therein a pressure of, say, sixty pounds; and if the brakes are not applied often enough to keep this pressure down to sixty pounds the amount of air pumped into the air reservoir will greatly exceed this amount unless some means of stopping the operation of the pump is provided. For this reason the air-reservoirp communicates with the cylinder 8. As long as the pressure in the reservoir 19 is no greater than sixty pounds the air will have no effect to force forward the piston s of the cylinder 5, owing to the spring 5 which is adapted to withstand a pressure of sixty pounds; but when the pressure in the reservoir 9 exceeds sixty pounds the air will force forward the piston 3, together with the piston-rod 5 as the spring 5 will yield to this high pressure. The effect of this move ment on the part of the piston-rod s will be to force out the lever 25, fulcrumed at t, and throw the clutch to out of engagement with the pinion m, when the operation of the pump h will cease and the pressure in the air-reservoir 19 will remain at sixty pounds until it has been drawn upon to apply the brakes. Upon allowing some of the air to escape from the reservoir the spring 5 will expand and assume its normal position, whereby through the mechanism before described the clutch 'u will be thrown again into engagement with the pinion m, causing the pump it to operate again. In applying the brakes the gripman from his position in the front of the car throws the lever in the proper direction, which through lever-connections therewith opens the valve 4' and allows the air to escape from the reservoir 19 to the brake-cylinder (1, whereby the piston in said brake-cylinder is forced forward, together with the piston-rod connected therewith, this piston being connected in the ordinary manner to the necessary lever mechanism for forcing the brakeshoes into contact with the wheels to stop the car. To start the car the lever g is thrown in the opposite direction to operate the valve 0" to close communication from the reservoir to the brake-cylinder and open the escapeport in said valve, when the brakes will be released and the air in the brake-cylinder 1 allowed to exhaust. 3y the above arrangement of parts I am enabled to apply a system of air-brakes to street-railway ears without the employment of any other power than that obtained from the movement of the car, which generates the air necessary to operate the brakes. The apparatus is simple, and may readily be applied to the ordinary forms of street-railway cars. By it the gripman has practically complete control of the car and yet is freed from the heavy labor heretofore experienced in applying the hand-brakes to such heavy cars. \Vhere one or more additional cars are coupled to the main grip-car they may be provided with brake-cylinders and branch pipes leading thereto from the valve 0*, so that the brakes may be applied to all the cars by the gripman on the forward car.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an air-brake system for street-cars, the combination of a frame pivoted to the truck and having a bearing on the car-axle, an air-pump on said frame, a cog-wheel mounted on the frame and connected to the piston of the pump, and a pinion on the car-axle meshing with the cog-wheel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In an air-brake system for street-cars, the combination. of a frame mounted on the car-truck, an air-pump on said frame, a cogwheel mounted on the frame and connected with the piston of the pump, a pinion mounted on the ear-axle and engaging with said cogwheel, a clutch connecting the pinion and axle, and an air-operated cylinder for operating the clutch, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an air-brake system for street-cars, the combination of the frame mounted on the car-truck, the air-pump on the frame, the reservoir on the car communicating with the air-pump, the clutch on the car-axle engaging with mechanism for operating the pump, a cyl- IIO inder on the frame communicating with the t, fulcrumed to the bearing t and connected reservoir, and lever-connections from its pisto the piston-rod s and clutch u,substantial1y ton to said clutch, substantially as and for as and for the purposes set forth.

the purposes set forth. In testimony whereof I, the said PETER J. 5 4. In an air-brake system for street-cars, CULL, have hereunto set my hand;

the combination of the frame g, mounted on the ear-truck, the air-pump on said frame, the PETER J. CULL. clutch to on the car-axle engaging with mech- \Vitnesses: anism for operating the pump, the cylinder 8 ROBT. D. TOTTEN,

IO on the frame containinga spring 8 the lever J. N. OOOKE. 

